You don’t have to be drunk to be a drink-driver!

YOU don’t have to be drunk to be a drink-driver – that’s the message this festive season to motorists in Nottinghamshire.

Nottinghamshire County Council, along with other Midlands local authorities including Nottingham City Council, has signed up to a campaign called Over the Limit which is aimed particularly at male drivers aged between 17 and 29.

The campaign aims to reduce the number of casualties and collisions where alcohol is a contributory factor.

In December last year, 152 people were arrested under suspicion of drink driving and 45 were involved in collisions.

Over the Limit features five characters of various ages and gender prosecuted for drink driving, each with a different story to tell.

The key messages are:

l you don’t have to be drunk to be a drink driver

l your body works off alcohol at a rate of roughly one unit per hour regardless of what you’ve eaten, taking exercise, drinking black coffee or sleeping

l you can still be over the limit if you’ve had a few glasses of wine with your evening meal.

l if you’ve had a big weekend full of Christmas or New Year celebrations, you may still be over the limit on your way home, even if you leave it until Sunday afternoon.

l after two glasses of wine with lunch, you can still be over the limit all afternoon

l if you’ve had a few beers at lunch but went to the gym on your way home from work, you can still be over the limit.

The campaign aims to hammer home the message that time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system and that if you’re driving the only safe level is zero.

The message will be spread using beer mats and posters in pub toilets across the county as well as via social and digital media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.